President Boris
Yeltsin on 5 January signed amendments designed to bring previous
Russian policies into compliance with international agreements on
the control of exports of weapons and dual-use technology. The
amendments expand the list of items prohibited for export.
According to the presidential press service, the amendments
confirm Russia's commitment to a policy of non-proliferation and
strengthen its national system for export controls. The U.S. and
Israel have charged Russia with exporting its missile technology
to Iran. JAC

OIL REVENUES PLUMMET...

Russian oil exports generated 30 percent
less revenue in the first 11 months of 1998 compared with the
previous year, according to statistics from the State Customs
Committee, Interfax reported on 5 January. During the same
period, producers exported 10 percent more to partly compensate
for the slump in world oil prices. According to AFP, exports of
natural gas, crude oil, and refined products make up 42 percent
of Russia's hard currency earnings. JAC

...AS GOVERNMENT SLAPS DUTY ON FUEL OIL EXPORTS

The government
has introduced export duties on fuel oil in order to prevent
electricity shortages. A duty of 10 ecus per ton ($11.7) will be
imposed on shipments from 1 January to 31 March. Unified Energy
System (UES) head Anatolii Chubais had complained to the
parliament that increased fuel oil exports have reduced the
nation's fuel oil reserves over the past two months. The fall in
the ruble made fuel oil exports profitable, despite low world
prices, Bloomberg reported on 5 January. Some refinery managers
have said that they will find ways to continue exporting, the
"Moscow Times" reported. JAC

DUMA TO APPROVE BUDGET BY MID-FEBRUARY?

State Duma Deputy Speaker
and member of Our Home is Russia Vladimir Ryzhkov told ITAR-TASS
that the 1999 budget might be approved in its fourth and final
reading as early as 10 February. According to Ryzhkov, the second
reading of the budget will likely be scheduled for 15 January and
the third for 3 February. He added that 150 suggested amendments
to the budget, most of which proposed redistributing budget
expenditures, have been submitted. Meanwhile, citing Budget
Committee Chairman Aleksandr Zhukov, Interfax reported that the
second reading may occur on 12 January and that 130 amendments
have been submitted, which if passed would increase spending by
one-third. On 5 January, Prime Minister Yevgenii Primakov
authorized the government to spend money at the same rate as the
previous year until the new budget is approved. JAC

MORE TALKS WITH IMF SCHEDULED

First Deputy Prime Minister Yurii
Maslyukov is expected to meet with IMF First Deputy Managing
Director Stanley Fischer in Boston within the framework of a
conference from 14-16 January, an IMF spokeswoman told Reuters on
5 January. An IMF mission will visit Moscow sometime in the last
two weeks of January to review the government's economic plans.
Deputy Finance Minister Oleg Vyugin said that the release of new
credits is not on the mission's agenda. JAC

YELTSIN PLEDGES TO PAY MOSKVA REPAIR BILL

President Yeltsin has
approved proposals for financing repairs of the nuclear cruiser
"Moskva" by Ukraine's Nikolaev shipyard, Interfax reported on 5
January. The government owes the shipyard 58 million rubles ($2.8
million) for repairs to the cruiser, which are more than 90
percent complete. Defense Minister Igor Sergeev said that the
ship, which was built in the 1980s, "is an excellent vessel from
a technical point of view" and that its "life span has not been
exhausted." JAC

ANTI-REFORM REGIONS COMPRISE MAJORITY

Regions with strong
economies and good prospects for growth are the most likely to
support politicians that favor market economic reforms; however,
these regions are outnumbered by their poorer counterparts, who
tend to tend to support Communists and "anti-liberals," the
January issue of "Vek" argued. According to the journal, "it is
impossible to find more than 15 regions with strong economies."
JAC

COSMONAUT ON 'MIR' TO SERVE ANOTHER STINT

Sergei Avdeev, the
cosmonaut who celebrated his 43rd birthday and 500th day in space
on 1 January, may spend an additional 99 days on board the space
station "Mir" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 January 1999). Avdeev may
remain on board when a new international crew arrives in
February. "Mir" was scheduled to cease operations in mid-summer,
but a private investor has recently offered to keep "Mir" in
orbit, provided the government guarantees a loan to the company
that runs the station. JAC

NEW NDR CANDIDATES DISCUSSED

Among the likely candidates to head
the Our Home is Russia (NDR) faction in the Duma are acting
faction head Boris Kuznetsov, Duma Defense Committee Chairman
Roman Popkovich, Andrei Polyakov, head of the Committee for Local
Government, and Valerii Yazev, a prominent Urals businessmen,
Deputy Duma speaker Ryzhkov told ITAR-TASS on 5 January. Ryzhkov
admitted that his name has also been floated as a prime contender
for the post, which was vacated by Aleksandr Shokhin in late
December following a disagreement with NDR party head, Viktor
Chernomyrdin. JAC

NEW HEAD OF RUSSIA-BELARUS UNION APPOINTED

Russian President
Boris Yeltsin and President of Belarus Alyaksandr Lukashenka have
appointed Viktor Stepanov, former premier of the Karelian
Republic, chairman of the Executive Committee of the Russia-
Belarus Union, Interfax reported on 5 January. Stepanov replaces
Vladimir Pokrovskii, who was dismissed. JAC

DZERZHINSKII TO BE CAST IN ICE

To express their support for an
earlier decision by the State Duma to restore the statue of Cheka
founder Felix Dzerzhinskii to Lubyanka square in Moscow, the
municipal authorities in Birobidzhan, capital of the Jewish
Autonomous Oblast have authorized the construction of their own
Dzerzhinskii in ice, "Trud" reported on 1 January. A local
businessman and former Communist Party regional secretary will
provide the several thousand rubles to fund the project. The ice
sculpture is expected to last only until the spring. JAC

CYPRUS CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE TO S-300s?

Having decided not to
deploy on Cyprus the S-300 air defense missiles it contracted to
purchase from Russia, the Greek Cypriot government is now
considering buying either Tor-M1 Russian short-range missiles or
comparable ASPIDE Italian-made missiles, AP and "Financial Times"
reported on 6 January, citing the Russian daily "Segodnya." Greek
Cyprus reached that decision under pressure from Turkey. The Tor-
M1 has a range of 12 kilometers, compared with 200 kilometer
range of the S-300. Following the Greek Cypriot decision, a
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesmen said Moscow expects the Greek
Cypriot government to abide by the 1997 contract to purchase the
S-300s (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 January 1999). LF

FOUR RUSSIAN POLICEMEN SHOT DEAD ON CHECHEN-INGUSH BORDER

Unidentified gunmen have shot dead four Russian police officials
and wounded several others in the Ingush village of Aki-yurt,
close to the border with Chechnya, Russian agencies reported on 5
January. Ingush Interior Ministry officials said the killers then
crossed the border into Chechnya. But Chechen State Security
Minister Aslanbek Arsaev told ITAR-TASS that a search has yielded
no trace of the killers, who he suggested may be hiding in
Ingushetia or neighboring North Ossetia. LF

AZERBAIJANI EX-PREMIER PLEADS NOT GUILTY ON COUP CHARGE

Suret
Huseinov pleaded not guilty on 4 January to charges of attempting
a coup d'etat in October 1994, setting up illegal armed
formations, and drug trafficking, Turan reported the following
day. Huseinov also denied any involvement in the declaration of a
separate Talysh-Murgan Republic on the Azerbaijani-Iranian border
in mid-1993. He claimed that the disturbances in October 1994,
which the prosecution characterized as an attempted coup, were
orchestrated by former parliamentary speaker Rasul Guliev.
Huseinov, who led the insurrection that precipitated the flight
from Baku in June 1993 of President Abulfaz Elchibey, served as
prime minister under Heidar Aliyev until October 1994, when he was
dismissed on suspicion of attempting to oust Aliev, He fled to
Moscow but was extradited to Azerbaijan in April 1996. The
prosecutor has demanded life imprisonment for Huseinov. The final
sentence is to be handed down later this month. LF

ANOTHER JOURNALIST BEATEN IN AZERBAIJAN

Yalchin Imanov, a
journalist with the independent "Yeni Musavat" newspaper, was
beaten in two separate incidents on 3 January when he tried to
obtain an interview with the chief administrator of Barda Raion,
Turan reported. Imanov was first assaulted by a guard employed by
the administrator and then taken to the local police department,
where he was beaten again. Reporters Sans Frontieres has lodged a
protest with Azerbaijani Interior Minister Ramil Usubov over both
incidents. LF

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER CALLS FOR DEFENSE PACT WITH
TURKEY

In a statement published by the Turkish daily "Zaman" on
31 December and cited by Groong on 5 January, Vafa Guluzade said
that in view of what he termed the "Cold War" between Russia and
Turkey, Baku wants to conclude a defense agreement with Ankara on
the lines of that between Russia and Armenia. Guluzade added that
military assistance to Azerbaijan would strengthen Turkey's own
security as well as its position in the region (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 29 December 1998). LF

NEXT JAMES BOND MOVIE TO BE SHOT IN BAKU

A spokeswoman for Eon
Productions told journalists in Baku on 5 January that the
company plans to shoot a new movie featuring the British agent
007 in Baku, Reuters reported. She said the plot will focus on
"power-hungry criminals in an oil-rich former Soviet republic"
and that Baku was selected for the location because of its
petroleum infrastructure. Also on 5 January, Azerbaijan's state
oil company SOCAR announced that it exceeded the 9 million metric
ton target for oil extraction in 1998 by 52,000 tons, ITAR-TASS
reported. But an RFE/RL correspondent noted that because of
plummeting oil prices, Azerbaijan failed to make any profit on
oil exports last year. LF

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH BLASTS ELECTIONS IN KAZAKHSTAN

Human Rights
Watch, in a 5 January press release on the presidential elections
in Kazakhstan, blasted the upcoming vote as "blatantly unfair,"
according to RFE/RL, which obtained a copy. The organization said
that incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev "likes to present
himself as a dignified partner for Western leaders and investors"
but "the way his government has twisted arms in this campaign
should leave no illusions about what kind of leader Nazarbayev
really is." The release lists a series of abuses, including
pressure on workers and students to sign petitions in support of
President Nazarbayev, the violation of citizens' rights to freely
disseminate and receive information, the government's
encroachment on the right to free speech, bias in registering
political support groups, and obstruction of public
demonstrations. BP

The campaign office of Gani Kasymov, the head of
Kazakhstan's Customs Committee and a candidate in the upcoming
presidential elections, issued a statement on 5 January
complaining about leaflets being distributed in Almaty, RFE/RL
correspondents reported. The leaflets say that Kasymov is "a
member of the corrupt nomenklatura and a puppet candidate brought
into the race by the incumbent president's people." No one has
claimed responsibility for distributing the leaflets. Kasymov's
campaign manager, Zhanquat Abdigaliyev, said two state-controlled
newspapers, "Kazakhstanskaya Pravda" and "Yegemen Kazakstan,"
have refused to print Kasymov's political platform. Meanwhile,
Serikbolsyn Abdildin, the Communist Party candidate in the
elections, has said he will appear on national television on 7
January and has challenged President Nursultan Nazarbayev also to
appear for a debate with him. BP

OSCE SAYS IT WILL BE ABLE TO ASSESS KAZAKHSTAN'S ELECTIONS

Dimitr Dimitrov, a representative of the OSCE mission to
Kazakhstan, said on 5 January that the mission has full access to
documents necessary to assess the conduct of the 10 January
presidential elections, ITAR-TASS reported. Dimitrov said the
authorities in Kazakhstan are not interfering with the mission's
work and that the mission expects to release a brief official
statement on the day after the elections and a detailed analysis
one month later. BP

TAJIK SUPREME COURT PASSES DEATH SENTENCE

The Supreme Court on 5
January handed down the death sentence to Sharip Sharipov and
prison terms to 17 of his accomplices, ITAR-TASS reported on 5
January. Sharipov was accused of organizing and carrying out
attacks on Tajik and Russian servicemen in the Dushanbe area in
1994-1995. He and his group are alleged to have been responsible
for "dozens of murders" and to have planned to bomb the
presidential palace. Sharipov has claimed that he is a victim of
slander. Observers say Sharipov has no chance of being granted a
presidential pardon. President Imomali Rakhmonov rejected a
request for pardon in late December by six men sentenced to death
for their alleged role in an attack on Rakhmonov in Khujand in
April 1997. Among those sentenced for involvement in that
incident was Abdulkhafiz Abdullayev, the brother of former Tajik
Prime Minister Abdumalik Abdullojonov. Abdullojonov is wanted on
charges by the Tajik authorities. BP

UNITED TAJIK OPPOSITION ORDERED TO CONTROL ITS UNITS

Tajikistan's National Reconciliation Commission on 5 January
ordered the United Tajik Opposition (UTO) to inspect the
temporary bases of its units on the outskirts of Dushanbe and to
inventory stockpiles of weapons and munitions, ITAR-TASS
reported. The deputy leader of the commission, Abdumajid
Dostiyev, said it is "necessary to control the presence of
opposition personnel...as well as armaments and ammunition."
Dostiyev added that every absence without leave or unauthorized
opening of weapons lockers must be reported and investigated. The
decision comes following a gun battle between two UTO field
commanders in downtown Dushanbe (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30
December 1998). BP

CHINARA JAKIPOVA RESIGNS FROM SOROS FOUNDATION IN KYRGYZSTAN

Former Minister of Education Chinara Jakipova on 5 January
announced she will step down as head of Kyrgyzstan's branch of
the Soros Foundation. Jakipova has received high popularity
ratings in polls on likely future presidential candidates and is
known to be a very influential figure in Kyrgyzstan's political
circles. However, she told an RFE/RL correspondent in September
that she is not yet considering running in the 2000 presidential
elections. Jakipova said on 5 January that she is leaving the
Soros Foundation to engage in some "creative work." BP

INFLATION IN UKRAINE REACHED 20 PERCENT LAST YEAR

Presidential
aide Valeriy Lytvytskyy said on 5 January that inflation in
Ukraine reached 20 percent last year, AP reported. Inflation in
September was 3.8 percent and rose to 6.8 percent in October in
the wake of Russia's financial crisis, sinking to 3 percent in
November and 3.3 percent in December. The previous year,
inflation stood at 10 percent. Lytvytskyy commented that the 20
percent inflation rate in 1998 was "a relatively acceptable price
to pay for the regional crisis, considering its depth and
comparing Ukraine's inflation figure to those of neighboring
countries." JM

UKRAINIAN SECURITY SERVICE SAYS 12 SPIES CAUGHT IN 1998

The
Security Service reported on 5 January that last year it caught
12 agents from foreign intelligence services and thwarted 14
attempts to pass sensitive data to foreign diplomats. It added
that a total of 19 foreigners were expelled from Ukraine in 1998
for their involvement in espionage. JM

PROTESTING REPAIRMEN SHUT OFF ELEVATORS IN SEVASTOPOL

Workers of
a company maintaining and repairing elevators in Sevastopol have
closed down all elevators in the city, except those serving
hospitals, to protest unpaid wages, AP reported on 5 January. The
protesters say the repairmen are owed more than 300,000 hryvni
($87,500) in back wages and have not been paid for more than
seven months. JM

BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION NEWSPAPER'S CHIEF EDITOR SACKED

Ihar
Hermyanchuk, chief editor of Belarus's main opposition newspaper
"Naviny," was dismissed on 4 January, RFE/RL's Belarus Service
reported the next day. Pavel Zhuk, the founder of the newspaper,
who decided on Hermyanchuk's ouster, told RFE/RL that "the
newspaper should be changed" but gave no details. Since 1991,
Hermyanchuk has been chief editor of the opposition newspaper
"Svaboda," which was banned by the authorities in late 1997 and
resumed its publication under the name of "Naviny" early last
year. Hermyanchuk told RFE/RL that this spring, he intends to
launch an information and analytical weekly, "something like
Moscow 'Itogi,' which has so far had no analogs in Belarus." JM

ESTONIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES RAILWAYS PRIVATIZATION

The cabinet
on 5 January approved the principles of the concession agreement
for privatizing Estonia's railways network, ETA reported. Under
that agreement, the highest bidder for the railways will sign a
deal on improving the sector's infrastructure. It is estimated
that an initial investment of 5.9 billion kroons (some $454
million) is needed to improve tracks and to update signal
equipment. Economy minister Jaak Leimann said that by the end of
the month a tender for the railways may be announced. JC

IVANGOROD EMPTYING SEWAGE INTO NARVA RIVER

BNS reported on 5
January that Ivangorod has been releasing some 1,700 cubic meters
of sewage into the Narva River since the Estonian water company
Narva Vesi stopped treating its waste water (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 4 January 1999). An Ivangorod official told the news
agency that 90 percent of the sewage is domestic and some 10
percent industrial waste. He added that industrial production in
Ivangorod has declined considerably and thus no heavy metals
waste is among the sewage. Ivangorod's sewage outlet is some 6
kilometers from the Gulf of Finland. Estonian environmental
experts say that Ivangorod's untreated waste spells catastrophe
neither for the Narva River nor for the Gulf of Finland but may
affect their fauna and flora. JC

FORMER CHIEF OF LATVIAN POLICE DECLINES TO BE REINSTATED

General
Aldis Lieljuksis, who was dismissed as head of police following
the April 1998 bombing of the Riga synagogue, has declined to
return to his former post following a court ruling that he be
reinstated, BNS reported on 5 January, citing the Interior
Ministry. The ministry said that it has revoked a statement
released on 6 April 1998 giving "tendentious and exaggerated
information about Lieljuksis" and has apologized for the "moral
damage" he sustained as a result of that statement. Interior
Minister Roberts Jurdzs told journalists that last spring, all
the blame for the bombing of the synagogue had been wrongly
placed on one person, namely Lieljuksis. JC

GIMZAUSKAS FAILS TO SHOW UP FOR TRIAL

Suspected World War II
criminal Kazys Gimzauskas failed to attend the opening of his
trial on 5 January. His lawyer told the court that the 90-year-
old Gimzauskas is seriously ill and confined to bed, to which the
judge responded that he will resume the trial the next day to
decide whether to call for a medical examination of the
defendant. Gimzauskas is charged with handing over Jews to Nazi
execution squads in his war-time capacity as deputy Vilnius
police chief. His superior at that time, 91-year-old Aleksandras
Lileikis, is also charged with such crimes. Lileikis's trial has
been repeatedly postponed owing to poor health. JC

GEREMEK SAYS POLAND WILL BE READY FOR EU IN 2002-2003

Polish
Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek told the radio station RTL on
6 January that Poland will be ready to join the EU in 2002 or
2003 and wants to sign up for the single currency, the euro, in
2006. "The problem is whether the EU will be ready," he added.
Geremek said Poland is "frustrated" that its original EU entry
date of 2000, backed by former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and
French President Jacques Chirac, has been pushed back. JM

POLISH CABINET REJECTS DEMANDS OF STRIKING ANESTHETISTS

The
government on 5 January said that it cannot meet the demands of
striking anesthetists (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 January 1999)
because those demands "distort the essence of the [health care]
reform," Reuters reported. According to the Health Ministry, some
60 percent of the 742 anesthetists who handed in their
resignation failed to show up for work on 5 January. Anesthetists
say some 1,500 of the country's 2,700 practicing anesthetists
have resigned. Meanwhile, Polish Radio reported the same day that
anesthetists from the Baltics and Sweden have begun appearing in
Polish hospitals to replace their protesting Polish colleagues.
JM

KLAUS WANTS DIALOGUE WITH HAVEL

In an open letter, Civic
Democratic Party (ODS) Chairman Vaclav Klaus has called on
President Vaclav Havel to meet with him to discuss the Czech
Republic's "serious social and economic problems," CTK and AP
reported on 5 January. Klaus said that "a dialogue...must replace
monologues" and that Havel must help reach consensus. He also
expressed the hope that the "walls" about which Havel spoke in
his New Year speech "will be destroyed this year" (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 4 January 1999). Presidential spokesman Ladislav
Spacek said Havel "has never been opposed to a dialogue," adding
that the president has "repeatedly emphasized that political
parties and politicians should not put personal interests and
group interests above those of the state and the citizens."
Havel, Spacek said, "welcomes any effort to reach a consensus and
solutions that would help the country." MS

DUTCH COMPANY DENIES CZECH BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS

A spokesman for
the Dutch KPN company on 5 January denied that in 1995 KPN bribed
Czech politicians from the ODS and the Civic Democratic Alliance
in order to gain a stake in the privatization of the Czech SPT
Telecom company, CTK reported. In Prague, a group of deputies
from the Social Democratic Party announced they will propose
setting up a special parliamentary commission to investigate the
allegations. The daily "Pravo" commented on 6 January that the
Dutch authorities want to send an investigation team to Prague to
clarify the allegations (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 January 1999).
MS

SLOVAK OPPOSITION LEADER EXPLAINS MECIAR'S EXIT FROM POLITICS

Augustin Marian Huska, deputy chairman of the opposition Movement
for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), said on 5 January that party
chairman Vladimir Meciar has decided to withdraw from politics in
order to undermine the only tie that binds the parties of the
ruling coalition, CTK reported. Huska said that only "anti-
Meciarism" is uniting these parties, whose political programs
otherwise differ widely, and "we really do not want to help them
put this conglomerate together." Meciar last appeared in public
at the end of September 1998, after his electoral defeat. Later,
he said he would not run for president and was planning to
withdraw from politics "at an appropriate date." Huska also said
the most important task facing the HZDS is that of attracting new
members who will realize that the country must have a strong
opposition party. MS

NATO FRONT-RUNNERS PLEDGE SUPPORT FOR SLOVAK MEMBERSHIP

Deputy
defense ministers from the three front-runners for NATO
membership, meeting in Bratislava on 5 January, pledged to help
Slovakia join the alliance, Reuters and CTK reported. Slovak
Ministry of Defense State Secretary Jozef Pivarci told
journalists that, "Our colleagues from the Czech Republic,
Hungary, and Poland told us, If you do not come to NATO, we will
bring NATO to you.'" MS

VIOLENCE BREAKS OUT IN PRISHTINA

Unknown persons tossed a hand
grenade at a Serbian caf in central Prishtina on 5 January.
Angry Serbs then attacked nearby Albanian cafes with rocks and
broken glass. Three Serbs and four Kosovars were injured. Until
now, the Kosovar capital had remained largely unaffected by the
previous 10 months of violence. Meanwhile in the Rahovec area,
south of Prishtina, international monitors began an investigation
of a purported mass grave of Kosovars killed in August by Serbian
security forces. PM

NATO COMMANDER BLAMES SERBS FOR KOSOVA CRISIS

General Wesley
Clark, who is the supreme allied commander in Europe, told the
"International Herald Tribune" of 6 January in a telephone
interview from Paris that Belgrade's termination of Kosova's
autonomy in 1989 "plunged [Kosova] into a cycle of repression,
[which led to Kosovar] resistance andvastly excessive reaction"
by Serbian forces. He stressed that the Kosovars "have to
continue to struggle because they can't risk another catastrophe
of falling under political repression from Belgrade." The Serbian
authorities, Clark added, "are violating their commitments to
NATO" under the October agreement between Belgrade and the
Atlantic alliance. He noted that the Serbs have broken their
promises by deploying additional troops and giving heavy weapons
to the paramilitary police. Clark told his French hosts that he
disagrees with Defense Minister Alain Richard, who recently
blamed the Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) for the continuing crisis
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 January 1999). PM

UCK WARNS THAT 'TIME IS RUNNING OUT'

Adem Demaci, who is the
UCK's chief political spokesman, said in Tirana on 5 January that
the Serbs "should realize that this is the last moment for them
to lay down their arms, give up their terror and killings, and
join the civilized world." He said of his talks with President
Rexhep Meidani, Prime Minister Pandeli Majko and Foreign Minister
Paskal Milo that "we understood each other very well" (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 5 January 1999). Demaci appealed to Albanian
politicians to end their squabbles because "a strong, stable
Albania is a great source of support for [ethnic] Albanians in
Kosova," dpa quoted him as saying. Demaci and Milo agreed on the
need for regular contacts between Tirana and the UCK. Demaci's
visit was the first in which a leader of the UCK was officially
received by the top Albanian political figures, who favor a
negotiated solution to the crisis. PM

HILL RESUMES DIPLOMATIC MISSION

Christopher Hill, who is
Washington's chief negotiator in the Kosova crisis, resumed his
shuttle diplomacy on 5 January by meeting with shadow-state
President Ibrahim Rugova in Prishtina. Hill said that he came "to
review the situation," including the "serious deterioration on
the ground." He stressed that "we need to make sure that the
cease-fire holds. The cease-fire is critical to getting a
political settlement." Jacques Huntzinger, who is France's chief
envoy in the crisis, has taken on an increasingly active role in
recent weeks, which led some observers to suggest that Paris
would like to replace Washington as the key sponsor of a
negotiated settlement (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 January 1999). PM

GLIGOROV STALLS ON AMNESTY

Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov on
5 January returned to the parliament a proposed amnesty law that
would end the jail terms of some 800 people found guilty of
violating the 1997 law on the public display of national symbols
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 December 1998). Most of the 800 are
ethnic Albanians. It is unclear what changes Gligorov would like
to be made. Some observers suggested that he may be testing the
political determination of the new government of Prime Minister
Ljubco Georgievski, which sponsored the amnesty in order to
defuse ethnic tensions and concentrate its energies on the
economy. The VOA's Albanian Service reported that Georgievski may
push through the amnesty without Gligorov's signature if the
prime minister feels that the president is deliberately
obstructing the measure. PM/FS

OSCE BACKS DODIK

U.S. diplomat Robert Berry, who heads the
OSCE's mission in Bosnia, said in Banja Luka on 5 January that
"on behalf of the international community, we continue to support
the [bid] of Milorad Dodik [to remain the Republika Srpska's]
prime minister." Berry's visit to Dodik came in the wake of hard-
line President Nikola Poplasen's nomination of Brane Miljus to
succeed Dodik (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 January 1999). Elsewhere,
Miljus told Belgrade's Radio B-92 that Dodik should be jailed for
his business activities during the 1992-1995 war and that former
President Biljana Plavsic should be tried for war crimes.
Spokesmen for the international community have repeatedly said
that the Republika Srpska will continue to receive reconstruction
and other aid only if the Bosnian Serbs choose a moderate
government. Poplasen defeated the moderate Plavsic for the
presidency in the 1998 elections. PM

ABDIC BALKS AT MOVE TO TRY HIM FOR WAR CRIMES

Fikret Abdic, the
former kingpin of the Bihac pocket in northwestern Bosnia, told
journalists in several telephone interviews from Rijeka on 5
January that the Bosnian government's recent moves to have him
extradited from Croatia for war crimes are politically motivated
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 January 1999). Abdic charged that
Sarajevo Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic wants "to see me
dead[or] at least in jail" lest Abdic defeat Izetbegovic's
allies in a future electoral contest to succeed the elderly
Izetbegovic. In the 1998 elections for the Muslim seat on the
joint presidency, Abdic won 36,000 votes, compared with
Izetbegovic's 511,000, AP noted. Abdic's popularity is largely
limited to the northwest, where many regard him as a champion of
local interests. His detractors consider him a crook and a war
criminal. PM

WOULD CROATIA EXTRADITE ABDIC?

Spokesmen for the Justice Ministry
said in Zagreb on 5 January that the authorities have not
received a formal request from Sarajevo for Abdic's extradition,
RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The spokesmen added that
the constitution prohibits the extradition of Croatian citizens.
This could prove the deciding factor in Abdic's case, since he
holds Croatian as well as Bosnian citizenship. The Croatian
independent media have repeatedly suggested that Zagreb may be
"holding Abdic in reserve" for a possible role in an unspecified
future partition of Bosnia. PM

ROMANIAN OPPOSITION SIDES WITH STRIKING MINERS

Former President
and Party of Social Democracy in Romania Chairman Ion Iliescu has
said the Jiu Valley striking miners' demands are "justified" and
the causes of the labor conflict are "more complex" than
presented by the government. He called on President Emil
Constantinescu to mediate the conflict, adding that the miners'
planned visit to Bucharest to stage a protest is "no solution."
Greater Romania Party Chairman Corneliu Vadim Tudor called on the
population to organize a general strike to end "Constantinescu's
anti-popular and anti-national regime." He added that the
parliament must meet in an extraordinary session to debate the
strike. Valeriu Tabara, chairman of the Party of Romanian
National Unity, said his party is backing the miners' demands,
"except some exaggerated ones," RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau
reported. MS

ROMANIAN RULING PARTY APPOINTS NEW OFFICIALS

The leadership of
the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic, meeting in
Bucharest on 5 January, appointed Constantin Dudu Ionescu as
acting secretary-general of the party and Remus Opris as its
acting spokesman. Both positions were held by Premier Radu Vasile
until his appointment as head of government. Ionescu and Opris
are to fill the posts during Vasile's tenure as premier, RFE/RL's
Bucharest bureau reported. MS

ROMANIA INTRODUCES MANDATORY HOLOCAUST STUDIES

History textbooks
are to be revised to correct "errors and omissions" on the inter-
war and communist period, a spokesman for the Ministry of
Education announced on 5 January. Particular attention will be
paid to the "apex of modern world barbarity," the Holocaust. The
ministry will cooperate with specialists on the Holocaust from
Israel and other countries in revising the textbooks. MS

MOLDOVA THREATENS TO LEAVE CIS INTER-PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

Moldovan parliamentary chairman Dumitru Diacov, in a letter to
Russian State Duma chairman Gennadii Seleznev, said Moldova will
be "forced to examine the possibility of taking adequate
measures, including quitting the CIS Inter-Parliamentary
Assembly" if the Duma does not strike from its agenda a planned
debate on recognizing the Transdniester as an independent state,
BASA-press reported on 5 January. Diacov said that the separatist
region is an "indivisible part of the Republic of Moldova" and
that the "whole international community" acknowledges this. He
added that "some forces in the Russian Federation" play "a
negative role" in seeking to "exploit the Transdniester problem
for purposes that have nothing in common with the fundamental
interests of our [two] peoples." MS

KURDISH NATIONALISM IN ARMENIA

By Onnik Krikorian

The arrest last month in Rome of Abdullah Ocalan, president
of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has led to a dramatic
increase in support for the Kurdish national liberation movement,
even among those Kurds living in countries where repression has
not been particularly evident in recent years. In Armenia,
Ocalan's arrest has served to accelerate the trend among the
country's 50,000--60,000 strong Yezidi community to identify
themselves not only as Yezidi but also as Kurds.

The Yezidi are indeed Kurdish, speaking the same language as
the majority of the Kurds (Kurmanji), and all Kurds were
originally Zoroastrian before the majority converted to Islam.
The Yezidi religion--even with elements of the Zoroastrian,
Islamic, and Christian faiths--closely resembles that of the
Armenians before the adoption of Christianity, and the PKK has
recently acknowledged that fact in an attempt to clarify the
origins of the Kurdish nation. Visiting Armenia in June 1998 in
what was most likely a recruiting drive, Mahir Welat, the PKK
representative to Moscow and the CIS, affirmed, "I am a Muslim
Kurd but I also honor all religions. All Kurds used to be Yezidi
[Zoroastrian] in the past. Some of us were forced into becoming
Muslim, but now it is our intention to return and to educate
ourselves again."

The Yezidi are currently the largest ethnic minority in
Armenia, the Muslim Kurds having left during the early years of
the Karabakh conflict. Moreover, both the Armenians and the
Yezidi fled Ottoman Turkey during the massacres of 1915, and both
harbor the same hatred of the Turkish and [Muslim] Kurdish
perpetrators that has shaped much of the identity and policy of
present-day Armenia.

Although relatively small in size, the Yezidi community in
Armenia still has strategic significance for the PKK. An upsurge
of Kurdish nationalism in Armenia would inevitably affect an
estimated 200,000 Muslim Kurds who have assimilated into
Azerbaijani society. Indeed, with the PKK representative to the
Caucasus based in Armenia and with Welat's recent visit, the
situation of the Azerbaijani Kurds may already be targeted for
attention.

According to Welat, "the attitude of Armenia toward national
minorities is considered part of the generosity and graciousness
of the Armenian people. Azerbaijan has many nations too, but if
we consider their national policy, it is very bad. For those who
show loyalty toward Azerbaijan, the attitude towards them is
normal, but for those such as the Kurds, the attitude is quite
different. They do not have normal lives."

Official PKK policy is to praise Armenia but to criticize
Azerbaijan for the treatment of its own Kurdish population--
despite a notable silence when the Kurds living in Kelbajar and
Lachin were expelled by Armenian forces during the Karabakh
conflict. The PKK even remained silent when, under the presidency
of Levon Ter-Petrossian, there was a short-term policy to promote
a Yezidi identify far removed from any Kurdish origin. That
policy, however, only strengthened the resolve among the Yezidi
to develop a strong Kurdish identity. Yezidi villages now openly
demonstrate their support for the PKK by displaying portraits of
Ocalan and PKK guerillas on their walls. In early December, buses
ferrying villagers to Yerevan to attend the 20th anniversary
celebration of the formation of the PKK displayed ERNK (National
Liberation Front of Kurdistan) and PKK flags, and a recorded
message from Ocalan himself was broadcast to the hundreds who
attended.

While the reasons for the increase in Kurdish nationalism
among the Yezidi are complex, there is little doubt that one
significant factor is a marked reluctance among many Armenians to
consider Armenia anything other than a mono-ethnic country. Even
though policy toward minorities may change under President Robert
Kocharian, the Yezidi have so far been overlooked during the
development of the new social and political structures. Thus, it
was inevitable that the opportunity to find themselves an
integral part of a nation fighting for liberation would prove
attractive. With Ocalan in Rome and with the Yezidi having found
a new identity desirable in a new Armenia, open support for the
PKK in Armenia is currently politically expedient in that it is
directed against Turkey.

As the result of the developments in Rome--and regardless of
sensitivities over identity in the past--50,000 Yezidi in Armenia
have come to identify themselves as Kurds virtually overnight.
But that new sense of purpose may pose problems in the near
future, both for the Yezidi themselves and for Armenia. Given the
sensitivity of the Kurdish question, it is uncertain how long
Armenia will continue with its new-found tolerance toward a
minority that enthusiastically identifies itself with a movement
that might well achieve autonomy in eastern Turkey, which many
Armenians consider part of historical Western Armenia. (Some
Armenian political groups such as the Dashnaktsutiune--the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation--have reportedly held talks
with the Kurds on reconciling the two nations' respective claims
on those territories.)

And if there is indeed an upsurge of Kurdish nationalism
among the Kurds of Azerbaijan, Baku may choose to attribute that
development to a deliberate policy of destabilization on the part
of Armenia, rather than lay the blame on the PKK or on its own
reluctance to address the needs and aspirations of a significant
ethnic minority.
The author is a free-lance journalist currently based in Yerevan.
The views expressed in this article are his own and do not
necessarily reflect the position of any organization with which
he may be employed or otherwise affiliated.